a. When a visarga faces a 'ka/kha' or 'pa/pha', it is pronounced as a half aspirant (अर्धविसर्ग)
But there is a difference in the way these two are pronounced, as in the origination of the sound.
But there is a difference in the way these two are pronounced, as in the origination of the sound.
- रामः करोति is pronounced as रामह्-करोति (visarga here becomes a जिह्वामूलीय jihvaamuuleeya)
- रामः पश्यति is pronounced as रामह्-पश्यति (visarga here becomes a उपध्मानीय upadhmaaneeya)
raamaH karoti is pronounced as raamah-karoti
raamaH pashyati is pronounced as raamah-pashyati
To differentiate between जिह्वामूलीय and उपध्मानीय, think of aspirating air while keeping the mouth ready to pronounce the consonant coming next! This makes it very easy to pronounce these two kinds of visargas correctly.
The best verse to differentiate these two pronunciations is:
काकः कृष्णः पिकः कृष्णः को भेदः पिककाकयोः ।
वसन्तकाले संप्राप्ते काकः काकः पिकः पिकः ॥
- कुवलयानन्द
kaakaH kRuShNaH pikaH kRuShNaH ko bhedaH pikakaakayoH ।
vasantakaale saMpraapte kaakaH kaakaH pikaH pikaH ॥
- kuvalayaananda
The audio below will help notice the difference better!
b. When a visarga faces a 'sa', it becomes a 's'. When it faces a 'sha' it becomes a 'sh'.
- रामः सखः is pronounced as रामस्सखः
- रामः शेते is pronounced as रामश्शेते
raamaH sakhaH is pronounced as raamassakhaH
raamaH shete is pronounced as raamashshete
c. When a visarga faces a 'kSha', it shall remain as a full visarga and HAS to be pronounced fully.
- रामः क्षमी is pronounced as रामः, क्षमी
raamaH kShamI is pronounced as raamaha kShamI. Popular examples for this are - दक्षिणः, क्षमिणांवरः (VS shloka 98), उद्भवः, क्षोभणो देव: (VS poorva-nyaasa), समदुःखसुखः, क्षमी (BG ch 12, shloka 13)
d. Visarga appearing before any of these consonants - ग्/घ्, ज्/झ्, ड्/ढ्, द्/ध्, ब्/भ्, न्/म्/ङ्/ञ्/ण्, य्/व्/र्/ल्/ह् - changes to the 'O' sound
d. Visarga appearing before any of these consonants - ग्/घ्, ज्/झ्, ड्/ढ्, द्/ध्, ब्/भ्, न्/म्/ङ्/ञ्/ण्, य्/व्/र्/ल्/ह् - changes to the 'O' sound
- रामः गच्छति becomes रामो गच्छति
raamaH gachChati becomes raamo gachChati
e. As a general rule - keep in mind, the pronunciation of the visarga (H) is not a fixed sound. It depends on the syllable following it as well as the syllable preceding it. If it is the last word (with no following syllable), then, it will mirror the previous vowel's pronunciation.
Is H pronounced like ha or h? In other words, does the visarga pronunciation 'mirror' the preceeding vowel?
ReplyDeletePronunciation of the visarga (H) is not a fixed sound. It depends on the syllable following it. If it is the last word, with no following syllable, then, it will mirror the previous vowel's pronunciation. Hope that helps.
DeleteCan you help with BG chapter 16 shloka "tejah kshama dhrti shaucham"
ReplyDeleteShould tejah be pronounced as tejakshama or tejah kshama?
Thanks
Deepa, the visarga at the end of tejaH has to be pronounced fully due to the 'kSha' that follows. It would almost sound like tejaha (although it is technically not written as तेजह). If you observe, there are similar instances in the viShNusahasranaama as well -
Deleteउद्भवः, क्षोभणो देवः
क्षमः, क्षामस्-समीहनः
दक्षिणः, क्षमिणां वरः
etc.
Even though these visarga-s are in the middle of the shloka's quarter, it should be fully voiced. (The , indicates the slight pause).
MS Subbalakshmi's rendition has this pronounced correctly, if you want a reference point.Hope that helps.
Thanks for the quick reply, that's what I thought. But needed confirmation to inform our mission teachers.
DeleteSame with "Ashrama shramanah kshamah" in Vishnu sahas.
Btw, thanks for this blog. Am using it to teach my kids.
Not a problem. If you need a little more notations here's the link. The link to the English pdf on the page has been found useful by kids since not everyone is familiar with the script. It also has the mahapraaNa-s color coded so they don't miss the emphasis.
ReplyDeletehttp://sanskritprayers.blogspot.com/2016/01/bg-chapter-16-sanskrit.html
In VS, it would be
aashramash- shramaNaH, kShaamaH
(the visarga in aashramaH becomes 'sh' due to the following sh) and of course the full pronunciation of the shramaNaH due to kSha.
Hope that helps.
Namaskaraha
ReplyDeletePlease tell why there is no visarga in the following verse after "Hrishekesha" - or rather when we should use visarga and when we should not.
Gita Chapter 18, Verse#1
"tyaagasya ca HRisheekEsha pRtha kkESinishoodhana"
Thank you so much
Hari Om
Srinivas
Namaste Srinivas ji,
DeleteIn this verse, the word hRushIkesha is in 'sambodhana prathama vibhakti' which means, it is used as a vocative case. Arjuna is calling or addressing Krishna here as 'hRushikesha'. But if the sentence were saying hRushikesha is blue then it would be 'hRushikeshaH neela-varNaH' when he in subjective case, prathama vibhakti.
So, usage essentially depends on the context or case in which the word is being used in. Hope that helps.
Namaste Rashmiji- Appreciate much your response. Lucky to find this site./\
ReplyDeleteHappy to hear that, Srinivas ji 🙏
DeleteIf you are interested in these topics, you may also enjoy my other blog -
https://sanskritpearls.blogspot.com/
This has subhaaShitas and commentaries in English. Do check it out.
Madam, thanks for this article. I am attending a Vishnu Sahasranamam workshop and had the following doubt. When visarga is followed by akshara pa, is it to be converted to pha (फ). Eg. Purushaha pranaha becomes purushaf Pranah and bhaktya purushamavyayam to bhaktyaf purushamavyayam. Kindly explain in which cases such conversions happen.
ReplyDeleteShri GurubyohNamaha
Priyadarshini ji,
DeleteGood to hear that you are learning Vishnusahasranaama.
रामः करोति is pronounced as रामह्-करोति (visarga here becomes a जिह्वामूलीय jihvaamuuleeya)
रामः पश्यति is pronounced as रामह्-पश्यति (visarga here becomes a उपध्मानीय upadhmaaneeya)
To differentiate between जिह्वामूलीय and उपध्मानीय, think of aspirating air while keeping the mouth ready to pronounce the consonant coming next! This makes it very easy to pronounce these two kinds of visargas correctly.
The visarga doesn't really change the 'pa' into a 'pha'. It is just wherever the visarga is placed, before the 'pa' you make a half aspirating sound keeping your mouth ready to say the following 'pa'. This gives you the precise sound for the visarga before the 'pa'.
Also, there is no visarga after bhaktyaa, so it simply stays as bhaktyaa puruShamavyayam.
If you are reading an English script, here's one which gives you a little more insight into pronunciations with the changes already incorporated and mahapraaNas highlighted. Do check it out -
https://sanskritprayers.blogspot.com/search/label/viShNusahasranaama
It has both Sanskrit and English. Hope that helps.
Namasteji,
ReplyDeletewhen "pa" will be pronounced as "ph" after visaraga?
Thanks
Parul
Every time there is a visarga before 'pa', the VISARGA is pronounced almost like a 'ph' but the actual 'pa' itself of the next word will remain a 'pa'.
DeleteThank you very much. is there any more rules other than this blog?? if yes kindly share it.
DeleteThere are many many rules in Sanskrit. This blog is but an entry way. To learn all the rules, the best way is to study paaNini sootras.
Deleteरामः करोति is pronounced as रामह्-करोति (visarga here becomes a जिह्वामूलीय jihvaamuuleeya)
ReplyDeleteरामः पश्यति is pronounced as रामह्-पश्यति (visarga here becomes a उपध्मानीय upadhmaaneeya)
for above difference I could not understand the difference. as per writing it looks same. Ramh karoti, Ramah Pashyati
It is origin of the aspirant that makes the difference in the sound. It is not easy to depict that in the writing. But to differentiate between जिह्वामूलीय and उपध्मानीय, think of aspirating air while keeping the mouth ready to pronounce the consonant coming next! This makes it very easy to pronounce these two kinds of visargas correctly.
DeleteAlso for the PDF for chapter 16 sanskrit what does green color signify?
ReplyDeleteI am not sure if I understand the question. Could you elaborate the context?
DeleteDear Kaavya Sindhu, we're students learning sanskrit and we work on the nāmasaṃgīti. May we ask you to record yourself reading it, it could help us tremendoulsy since we want to do a daily recitation practice of the text. Thank you! सर्व मङ्गलं
ReplyDeletehttps://web.archive.org/web/20070609153250/http://www.sub.uni-goettingen.de/ebene_1/fiindolo/gretil/1_sanskr/4_rellit/buddh/manjnspu.htm
Happy to hear about your work, Padma ji.
DeleteUnfortunately, my schedule does not permit me to take up the work of recording the nāmasaṃgīti at this time. Sorry about that.
The text looks very interesting! Good luck in your endeavor.
When does Visarga gets "O" sound ? ex. BG Ch.12.09 In अभ्यासयोगेन ततः, माम् इच्छाप्तुं धनंजय ...sometimes "tatah" is written as "tato"
ReplyDeleteVisarga appearing before any of these consonants changes to the 'O' sound - g/gh, j/jh, ḍ/ḍh, d/dh, b/bh, n/m/ṅ/ñ/ṇ, y/v/r/l/h
DeleteHope that helps.
All the info here is very very useful, some demo always helps, sharing as I found this helpful.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMhe2QgDm28
Again, Thanks Kavya Sindhu for spreading the knowledge
Thank you!
DeleteHari Om Rashmi ji. Thank you for ur comments. In fact I landed on ur site accidentally and now I would follow it regularly. I found this section very useful. Rgds,
ReplyDeleteHappy to hear that you are finding the content useful, Chandru ji 🙏🙂
DeleteExcellent blog notes. Very helpful in my quest for learning Sanskrit and Bhagavadgita "correct" pronunciation.Thank you very much.
ReplyDeleteHappy to hear that, Ventat ji! Enjoy the learning.
Deleteरामः करोति is pronounced as रामह्-करोति i.e Raamakh-karoti and
ReplyDeleteरामः पश्यति is pronounced as रामह्-पश्यति i.e. Raamaf-pashati.
Please clear my doubt. I am confused by the explanation made by you above.
Regards
Unfortunately, explaining a sound in writing is not easy. That is why it is written in terms of mouth position in the explanation above. It has to be an aspirant, as if letting out air between pronouncing the previous syllable and getting the mouth ready for the next one! There is a subtle difference between the updmaaneeya visarga and the 'fa' sound. 'Fa' is a dantoShTya - uses tooth and lip. But upadmaaneeya doesn't use the tooth. Hence all the word jargon :). Hope that helps.
DeleteExcellent and very lucid way to explain visarga.
ReplyDeleteCould you please explain on when to use ra in visarga. "ra" rule
Please help.
ReplyDeleteHow to pronounce ॐ after visarga such as
हरिः ॐ तत् सत् . will it be like हरिर् ओन् तत् सत् . Please explain.
Hello Mam. I am trying to study Vishnu Sahasranamam and found this blog of great help to learn and understand the correct prononciations. Can you please give me access to the documents at https://sanskritprayers.blogspot.com/search/label/viShNusahasranaama It shall be if great help. Thanks once again.
ReplyDeleteI have requested access from my email id - gaurangjhaveri@gmail.com. Thanks once again.
DeleteGaurang ji,
DeleteThe link has been updated and it is available directly to anyone who clicks on the 'View pdf' button on the page. Hope that helps. Good luck with the learning.
So nice.
ReplyDelete1. Could you please put up a small audio clip to clarify ramah karoti and ramah pashyati?
Or, maybe some such occurrence in MS Subbulakshmi's rendering of Vishnu Sahasranamam.
2. Also, one question (not directly related to visarga, but to line ending with halant).
I heard some people pronounce as though there is no hard stop at halant. It sounds nice, but is that correct?
For example,
सहसैवाभ्यहन्यन्त स शब्दस्तुमुलोऽभवत्
In this, the last word is read by many people as though there is no hard stop after त्
Audio of a sample subhaaShita has now been added to the post, Swaminathan ji. Hope that helps.
DeleteThe ending halanta pronunciation the hard stop seems jarring to the ear. Check out the audio given below the verse at this link to hear the preferred way of saying it -
https://sanskritpearls.blogspot.com/2011/08/august-5th.html
Hope that helps.
Thanks so much .Iam happy that I ended up in this blog to understand the sounds of visarga. Iam a newbie and just now starting to learn sanskrit
ReplyDeleteHappy to hear that! Best of luck in your endeavor :)
Deleteते धन्या भुवि परमार्थनिश्चितेहाः
ReplyDeleteशेषास्तु भ्रमनिलये परिभ्रमन्तः ॥
Hello,
This is from Dhanyashtakam.
How the visarg in परमार्थनिश्चितेहाः will be pronounced?
paramaarthanishchitehaaha (deergha will take the hrasva form of the vowel behind the visarga)
ReplyDeleteThank you
DeleteHi. Can you please clarify whether the Panchakshari mantra is pronounced as Om Namah Shivaya or Om Namash Shivaya. Rule states the latter to be correct but some pandit I've spoken to about it have disagreed. Need your guidance.
ReplyDeleteOm Namash-shivaaya would be the correct way of saying this mantra
DeleteNeed help with this visarga. BG 17.16 , second visarga after word prasadha: , soumyatvam. Some say s or ih
ReplyDeleteAny visarga before 'sa' will become a half 's'. So, it will be 'prasaadas-saumyatvam'. Hope that helps.
DeleteThank you ji.
ReplyDeleteNamaste Rashmi Ji,
ReplyDeleteWhat is the right way to pronounce नि:क्षत्रिय ?
Thank you
Namaste.
DeleteIn Sanskrit, a visarga behind a kSha has to be pronounced fully. However, couldn't find this word in Sanskrit dictionary. It could be of Hindi origin meaning 'without any kShatiryas'. Rules are not same in both languages. They may say - nishkShatriya. Hope that helps.
Namaste Rashmi Ji,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the feed back. This in fact is a Sanskrit word.
“नि: क्षत्रिय” is in the 4th charana of the 9th shloka of the 36th sarga of “Narayaneeyam” written in Sanskrit by Narayana Bhattatiri about 400-450 years ago.
Complete Narayaneeyam in Sanskrit can be accessed through the following links:
https://narayaneeyam-firststep.org
https://www.sanskrit.nic.in/DigitalBook/N/Narayaneeyam.pdf
Your original question was about the pronunciation of 'नि:क्षत्रिय' as one word (hence I said no such word in Sanskrit).
DeleteHere you are saying 'नि: क्षत्रिय' and it is two words. Then pronunciation has to follow the visarga rule before a क्ष where the visarga is completely pronounced. Other examples for this are - दक्षिणः, क्षमिणांवरः (VS shloka 98), उद्भवः, क्षोभणो देव: (VS poorva-nyaasa), समदुःखसुखः, क्षमी (BG ch 12, shloka 13), etc.
Hope that helps.
Thank you very much, Rashmi Ji. Your answer clears my doubt.
ReplyDelete